Michael J. BurgessA baseless copyright claim against a web host shows how broken this part of the system has become.
1 May did not post the image in question, did not own the site where it appeared, and had the image removed after notice. Even so, payment was still demanded.
That is what happens when copyright enforcement becomes a pressure tactic. Small hosts, nonprofits, and community groups are expected to panic first and argue later.
A demand letter is not the same as a valid legal claim, and hosting content is not the same as publishing it.
Read: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/03/baseless-copyright-claim-against-web-host-and-why-it-failed
A Baseless Copyright Claim Against a Web Host—and Why It Failed
Higbee & Associates, a law firm known for sending copyright demand letters to website owners, targeted May First Movement Technology, accusing it of infringing a photograph owned by Agence France-Presse (AFP). The claim was baseless. May First didn’t post the photo. It didn’t even own the website where the photo appeared.